123brummer

The footswitch issue had been driving me nuts. Some of them just wouldn't latch, I couldn't use my tap tempo, or the looper as the switches were so unreliable so I took my HD500 apart. If you have basic electronics skill they are easy to repair. First thing to try is remove the bottom plate cover (the two middle screws aren't necessary to remove) and set to one side. You'll see two PCB strips at the bottom of the unit pertaining to the footswitches linked together by a ribbon cable. Work on one at a time. Remove the two hex nuts and gently, working from one end to the other, unclip the PCB from the plastic prongs. Make sure to keep the unit upside down at all times to prevent the springs falling out of the footswitches. Once you have the PCB free, spray some PCB contact/switch cleaner (it evaporates after cleaning) on the small microswitches (one at a time) and depress them a few times. Work your way through each PCB strip and refitting is the reverse of removing them. If this hasn't cleaned the switches and restored them back to operation. You can find tactile microswitch parts here: http://uk.rs-online.com/web/c/switches/tactile-switches-accessories/tactile-switches/?sort-by=default&sort-order=default&view-type=List Line 6 probably won't give you a part number but some simple measuring and common sense (and some decent soldering skills) will see you with new switches. Obviously any work you carry out on your own device will probably invalidate your warranty so bear that in mind. However, I decided to research and experiment as my unit is out of warranty and thought "If I'm going to send it off for new switches I may as well have a go myself first". Thankfully the cleaning has solved the issues for now on my unit. I have to say though that the switch system is pretty susceptible to dust debris and malfunction. The microswitches are tiny and like those that you find in a mouse button! I'm surprised that Line 6 chose this system considering these are meant to be on the floor (presumably the dirtiest place in any given room) and they are going to be trodden on (presumably by people wearing shoes that might be dirty!) Anyway, I hope this helps some people as I was having trouble getting some help with this issue for a long time!